New Zealand v Zimbabwe: ICC World Cup 2011 – Must win game for both teams
New Zealand and Zimbabwe go head to head in ICC World Cup 2011 match-18 on Friday, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/March-c74391 4 at Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad in a game that will decide, which of these two teams go into the next round.
Both teams are in group ‘A’ and the Black caps rank four in their group, while the African side is in at fifth.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 are in at second and third spot. These three teams will most probably reach the quarter-final stage.
The fourth spot for the knock-out phase will be decided between these two Test playing nations, so this match is very crucial for both teams as the minnows in group ‘A’, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 don’t stand a chance of making it into the final eight.
Kiwi captain, Daniel Vettori, is fully aware about this game’s importance he said, “This is a must-win game for us on where we go in the tournament. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 have played pretty well. We have seen a different set of tactics. Against Australia it was pace,
we would see a lot of spin in this game”.
The Black Caps are considered to be one of the dark horses in the tournament. However, they will go into the match as favorites as Zimbabwe have been on a losing streak as of late.
Zimbabwe’s team will try to accomplish what the Irish team did. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751 produced the first upset of the World Cup 2011 as they defeated England on Wednesday. The Rhodesians will also be pumped up after defeating Canada by 175 runs on Monday, February 28.
Zimbabwean skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Elton-Chigumbura-c55937, said, “It is the most important game for us tomorrow to put us in the running [for the quarter-finals]. The guys have prepared well and hopefully we will bring the positives from the last game into tomorrow's game”.
Team form
Both teams have been going through a rough patch. New Zealand has won two from the last five, while the African side has won just one match from their last five fixtures.
Key players
The pitch at Ahmedabad, supports spin bowling so Vettori and Nathan McCullum will try to exploit it. Brendon McCullum is an experienced campaigner and after regaining his opening spot he’ll look to make full use of the batting friendly Subcontinent pitches.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Price-c82662, will be hoping to inspire their side once again.
Zimbabwe (probable XI):
1 Brendan Taylor (wicket-keeper), 2 Charles Coventry, 3 Tatenda Taibu, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (captain), 6 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sean-Ervine-c2471, 7 Greg Lamb, 8 Proper Utseya, 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Ray Price, 11 Chris Mpofu.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 (probable XI):
1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (wicket-keeper), 3 Jesse Ryder, 4 Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915, 5 James Franklin, 6 Scott Styris, 7 Jacob Oram, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Daniel Vettori (captain), 10 Tim Southee, 11 Hamish Bennett.
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